On 6 February, the citizens of Seoul, South Korea, enjoyed a car-free day on the country’s oldest highway Aheyon Overspass, to bid farewell to the 46-year-old highway which will be demolished and replaced by a bus-only lane this year.

Replacing more than 20 lanes of car traffic with bus-only lanes for a high-quality bus rapid transit (BRT) system, the Argentinian city Buenos Aires has been awarded the 2014 Sustainable Transport Award (STA) for its impressive revamp of its 9th de Julio avenue – the widest avenue in the world.

When it comes to convincing people to buy green products, costs – in monetary terms, is always the number one concern. But experts and policy makers across the East Asia region suggest that green products can actually be less pricey – not only in monetary terms, but also in terms of its harm on the natural and social environment.

Consuming more than two-third of the world’s shrinking energy resources, cities around the world are seeking ways to develop in a more sustainable way that is effective and energy-efficient at the same time - especially in the East Asia region, where rapid development and urbanization over the past decades have brought tremendous costs to the natural and urban environment.